how will they power it? the biggest problem is not cheap hardware but cheap/consistent power (both of which are problems - power is very expensive and very sparse and very unreliable).
I've read in news reports that you've received an outpouring of help from foreigners who want to donate computers to your school. Is that actually happening?
No, they are showing interest but nothing has been brought to the school. We are praying that they are able to organize themselves and present us with computers.
I would actually be more worried about corrupt customs officials stealing the hardware.
Someone who has a Facebook account (I don't) could ask the guy about shipping and customs issues in Ghana and for an address, then we just need to buy and ship. I am happy to proxy that. Email me (address in profile) if you want to donate a machine. I will photograph everything shipped for transparency and publish the waybill number. Usually it's cheapest to ship with China Post surface but it takes up to three months to arrive. We could look at pricier options or maybe someone here can pull strings with Fedex or UPS for a free delivery.
you have no idea what you're talking about. the average salary of a teacher in subsaharan africa is 100$/month. a kwh in uganda is ~ $0.17. a liter of gas is ~$1.50. only the wealthiest schools have generators and they save them for powering lights during exam prep periods. people aren't getting around on motorbikes - moto taxis exist and people pay for them but only wealthy people own them outright. nm the cost of even a small generator (north of probably $300).
So USD$0.17/class, one class per day, 20 classes per month, 20 * USD$0.17 = USD$3.4/month.
The teacher won't be the one paying, the community will gather money if required.
A small generator is USD$40 to buy here in China as I stated, not USD$300.
You are making a mountain out of a molehill.
(Edit in response to below: Please, enough personal attacks. I see solutions. You see problems. Fine. Logically, while poverty is real, using your figures USD$3-4/month spread across a community is clearly a non-issue if teachers are on USD$100/month. I don't need to physically visit Ghana to validate that, and if it really is an issue I am sure we can find it amongst those donating hardware to contribute a few dollars annually.)
(Further edit: Maybe you are confusing Uganda's situation for Ghana's. Uganda is way poorer than Ghana. "Ghana's rapid growth accelerated poverty reduction, cutting the poverty rate from 52.6% to 21.4% between 1991 and 2012. In 2012, Ghana's poverty rate was less than half the African average of 43%. Extreme poverty declined even more, dropping from 37.6% in 1991 to 9.6% in 2013." versus "With a per capita income of under US$170, Uganda today is one of the poorest countries in the world")
you are beyond clueless. any school that has a computer is a private school. public schools have zero money. there is no community doing fundraising - you're talking about people who absolutely literally live on <1$ a day and have never seen a computer before in their lives (let alone are willing to contribute money to power one).
>A small generator is USD$40 to buy here in China as I stated, not USD$300.
how much do you think it costs to ship? how high do you think import tariffs are? do you plan on holding every generator that every school needs on your lap on a flight over? i had to buy a socket wrench once - it cost me 30$ because it was imported.
>You are making a mountain out of a molehill.
i lived in rural uganda for two years and taught high school. i know exactly what i'm making into a mountain. these people can't afford toilet paper and soap. they shit into shallow holes in the ground. teachers read aloud from textbooks and students copy verbatim into trash notebooks (made out of discarded newspaper) because they can't afford textbooks. they eat boiled corn flour every day for their entire lives - a soda is a treat. just no clue man. how about this: spend the $1000 on a plane ticket and go see for yourself rather than sending rpis that no one will ever use and learn about what it's really like so you can then go on to educate others.
> I see solutions. You see problems.
lol. go ahead. do it. report back to us in a year how you've found the silver bullet the NGO community has been looking for for 40 years.
I'm not trying to say here that North-Africa is representative for all of Africa. But I am tired of people making the opposite claim.
Empirically, many people all over the developing world are prioritizing communication devices over those other things you listed.
yes. many times.
When computers are used properly many can lift themselves from poverty.
I know because that’s what I did.